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I always look forward to boat
trips, and this one looked particularly
good. The Wey and Arun trust are gradually
rebuilding the canal from the river Wey to
the river Arun, a distance of some 28 miles,
so that one day you will be able to take a
boat from London all the way down to
Littlehamton and although they still have a
long way to go, they have now opened up 4
miles or so to boating traffic, starting at
Loxwood and heading east towards Drungewick
and have a few boats for parties and
individuals alike.
As there were 38 of us on this outing, we
had the use of two or their boats, the "Wiggonholt"
the larger boat and suitable for wheelchair
use and the "Josias
Jessop" a smaller cruser suitable for a
dozen people. We set off just after midday
for our two and a half hour cruise.
Barbara and her team had prepared sandwiches
and cakes for everyone, and we were soon
tucked into lunch as we slowly drifted along
the canal towards the first lock, I found
this particularly interesting, as I can't
ever remember being in a boat going through
a lock before, despite going on countless
boats in the past, and was intrigued to
learn that the water had to be pumped back
into the top part of the canal by electric
pumps as that
part of the canal wasn't fed by a river, and
if they didn't it would soon empty.
Most of the canal was quite overgrown, and
in my opinion enhanced its beauty as you
meandered down the canal covered by trees
and bushes. The first boat even saw a couple
of kingfishers, but by the time we had
caught up with them they had gone, sounds
like a fishermen's tale to me....
The journey took us trough two locks, and we
were met at each by enthusiast walkers only
too eager to help us through the locks and
on our way. At one point the canal narrowed,
and we had a brush with the read beds along
side.
The trusts have certainly done a great job,
and we all enjoyed our day aboard their
boats, with many thanks to the organisers.
Robin Stephens
Below a short video of the day, and some
super pictures by Janet J. Peter K. and
Roger N.
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